The Amish Cook column generates a lot of reader mail, as you can imagine. Not nearly as much as it used to before everyone started emailing. One of the more rewarding letters arrived in the early 2000s from a woman in Ohio who was expressing her appreciation for The Amish Cook column over the years, in particular the late Elizabeth Coblentz's meatloaf recipe.
In her words, the recipe for Brown Sugar Meatloaf "saved her marriage" as it was the one thing she could do for her husband that really brought them together, satisfied him, etc . The letter was so sincere and heartfelt, that it made me feel really good. We since christened this recipe "Marriage Meatloaf." I wish I had saved the letter.
Geez, I remember the original post back in 2012 generated surprisingly heated discussion over meatloaf? One comment on the thread was: “If there truly is a woman out there whose husband is such a creep that a good meatloaf is the “one thing” that saved their marriage, I feel sorry for her.” And, predictably, that comment sparked a lot of discussion.
Looking back I think everyone was being too literal in the discussion. I think the original reader letter about the meatloaf was just a simple missive of appreciation and I doubt the meatloaf literally “saved her marriage.” Although, you know, if it did, then, great, I’m happy to have played a small role it in. So I have come to call this recipe “marriage meatloaf.” Hope it is as well-received in your home as it was in hers!
There are some recipes on Amish365.com that just keep people coming back and this meatloaf is one of them. Since originally posting this brown sugar meatloaf recipe back in 2012, it has gone on to become one of the most read recipes on the site.
🥣 Making Marriage Meatloaf
The best part of this recipe - the brown sugar glaze - comes at the end. But you want to get it right from the start, by using the best, most lean ground beef you can get your hands on. This really is a classic meatloaf recipe that will become one of your family favorite recipes!
In a large bowl, mix up the onion and ground beef very well before you add the remaining ingredients to the meatloaf mixture. This is when you could add some other special seasonings of your choice, like garlic. Some Amish cooks - to stretch their beef supply - will use a meat blend, like ground turkey, ground pork, sausage, or venision in with the beef, a half-and-half ratio. Doing this also adds some good flavor. Another variation is to add some saltine cracker crumbs at this step.
The wonderful smell of this meatloaf lifts from the oven as bakes, a signal of the great flavor that awaits you.
❓ Brown Sugar Meatloaf FAQ
Moistness! That is why eggs are important. Also, Amish cooks say that oats add a super texture to the meatloaf. And if you don't like oats, don't worry, you can't taste in the meatloaf, it's purely a texture thing. But if you really hate oats, you can swap out for cracker crumbs.
While some people might want to cover loosely with foil, this recipe works best uncovered!
You can bake the meatloaf in a glass loaf baking dish or metal, it doesn't really matter.
The meatloaf pairs very well with mashed potatoes and your favorite veggie. You can also slice it and make it into a meatloaf sandwich. I like it that way sprinkled with a little black pepper. Leftover meatloaf can be stored in the refrigerator or put into a sealed freezer bag and frozen.
A few of Barbara’s comments about it:
“It was very juicy and tender. As a test recipe, this is a winner in our book, and I will be making again.”
Barbara
Barbara’s husband is a an avid recipe tester/taster and he passes along that the meatloaf tastes
“Just as good today as it did last night and would be perfect on a sandwich.”
Barbara's Husband
Barbara did say that after an hour of cooking the inside of the meatloaf was just the tiniest bit pink, so you may want to bump up the cooking time to, say, and hour and 15 minutes or if it’s a tinge pink when you take it out, you can microwave it for 4-5 minutes, which is what Barbara did.
So I have come to call this recipe "marriage meatloaf." Hope it is as well-received in your home as it was in hers!
👩🍳 Meatloaf Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- ¾ cups quick oats, uncooked
- 2 well-beaten eggs
- ¼ cup chopped onion
- ¾ cup tomato juice
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons pepper
Brown Sugar Sauce
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 2 tablespoons mustard
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
📋 Instructions
- Combine all meatloaf ingredients thoroughly.
- Pack firmly into a loaf pan.
- Mix together sauce ingredients and spread over meatloaf before baking.
- Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.
👩🍳 More Amish Meatloaf Recipes
Amish Mom's Meatloaf
Amish Biscuit Meatloaf
Amish Cheddar Meatloaf
Amish Hot Dog Meatloaf
Rebecca Stoll's Pot Roast Meatloaf
🍖 Additional Almost 'Meat'loaf Recipes
Mrs. Stoltzfuss's Ham Loaf
Amish Liver Loaf
Homemade Amish Chicken Loaf
Homemade Pizza Loaf
Amish Fish Loaf
🖨️ Full Recipe
Brown Sugar Meatloaf
Ingredients
Meatloaf
- 2 pounds ground beef
- ¾ cups quick oats uncooked
- 2 well-beaten eggs
- ¼ cup chopped onion
- ¾ cup tomato juice
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon pepper
Sauce
- 2 tablespoon ketchup
- 2 tablespoon mustard
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
Instructions
- Combine all meatloaf ingredients thoroughly.
- Pack firmly into a loaf pan.
- Mix together sauce ingredients and spread over meatloaf before baking.
- Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.
Wendy
Ah, good ol' meatloaf. It warms my meat-and-potatoes lovin' heart!
Barb Mosher
"Resist the urge for clever comments here...I know they are myriad."
Seriously Kevin?
Kevin
#1, I was just joking..joke...kidding, fun... #2, Believe me Barb, if I hadn't said that, someone- or more likely 50 someones - would have posted something coarse. Sometimes it's best just to cut that sort of stuff off at the pass, this is a G-rated site.
Barb
If there truly is a woman out there whose husband is such a creep that a good meatloaf is the "one thing" that saved their marriage, I feel sorry for her.
And anyone who would make light of that needs to rethink the sanctity of marriage.
Kevin
Barb, I don't mean this disrespectfully because I like your insights, etc, but I just think you're over-thinking this...there are a gazillion people in the world...we're all gonna die someday, some things bring people comfort: a sunset, a song, maybe some meatloaf, a favorite dish....really, that is all the woman meant.....I thought it was sweet, I shared it...that was all. - Kevin
Barb
I wasn't directing my comments to the woman. I sympathize with her. I was directing my comments to anyone who thinks junior high humor would be an appropriate response.
Tammie
Exactly...
Tammie
Seriously, Barb??? Sadly enough some people have NO sense of humor! My husband HATES mushrooms. And I can see myself joking about how a recipe with cream of mushroom soup would ruin our marriage - is this literal? Uh, NO! I've volunteered at a (Rape &) Spouse Abuse center. Somehow, she doesn't appear to be an abused woman. They would probably never publicly admit to the fact that a meatloaf would save their marriage. Even if the wrong meatloaf would get the crap best out of them.
Barb, please do your homework/research before you are so judgemental.
Amy
Sad thing is women nowadays do not know how to even cook, more less take care of a house. Seems long gone are home etc classes in school. I was blessed to of been around my grandma and great grandma’s cooking at a young age, and learned a lot. I can hand quilt as well. Nothing beats a home cooked meal over takeout. Kevin, these are amazing recipes. Thank you
Dawn
Kevin,it was a sweet story..Glad you told it..
Joyce from So. Hutchinson
Wow, quite an interesting view on it...my take is that one needs to keep humor in life-no, not making fun or light of serious things, but in this instance I think the humor wasn't meant to be degrading, but taking note of the fact the we all need to lighten up in some areas and enjoy a good chuckle here and there. A good chuckle between my hubby and me can often lighten a tense moment and I feel can serve to deepen a great relationship!
Heather D.
If a meatloaf saves in a marriage, in that, the partner can't cook very well but can make one dish very well I'm all for it. 🙂 It's good to have a few recipes in your arsenal to keep your family asking for more.
Kay
Kevin,
I think your post would have been fine, had you not put your comment in parenthesis. I know you meant well, but considering the values of most of your readership, it was probably best left unsaid. I appreciate your sensitivity to your audience. (And, you can't please everyone, no matter how hard you try) 🙂 I enjoy your column.
Pam Cloud
literally had a cousin's hubby who would only eat meatloaf 6-7 days a week. I can not see how they made it as long as they did. His weird habits in his eating and in a couple other areas finally lead to their divorce. His mama coddled him and his new wife and auntie/live in nanny put up with it for years...I say the meatloaf broke the camels back there! 🙂 McDonalds, baked beans, mashed potatoes, and MEATLOAF that was all the man ate... would love to be a fly on his dining room wall now 40 yrs later! lol
RG Schmidt
I see nothing out of line in your comment, Kevin.
RG
Betty
No offense taken to your comment about the (and I'll bet it is delicious) meatloaf recipe. Tongue in cheek, folks.
Love your column.....
Dena
I didn't find it necessary to say anything. That said, if you'd said "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach", you'd have had someone be offended about that too. Taking offense is a choice. Anyone who's read your column for any time at all, knows you weren't trying to be unkind. I find it a bit of an "over the top" reaction.
Wm Justice
Here's another meat loaf recipe.
I have enjoyed this twice at Stoltzfus' in Intercourse, PA. The first time I ate there I asked for the recipe telling them I am from the deep south and not in the restaurant business since I knew restaurants don’t like to give out their recipes. The young lady reached under the counter and handed me a copy saying they got so many requests that they made copies for all the folks that asked. I have made it many, many times and served it to many, many of our dinner guests. It is by far and away the biggest culinary hit I have ever scored except perhaps for my mother’s lasagna recipe. I would say bon appétit in Amlish but I don’t know how.
Stoltzfus Farm Restaurant Ham Loaf
1 pound fresh ground pork
1 pound ground cured ham
2 eggs
3/4 to 1 cup milk
½ teaspoon salt (variable)
3/4 tablespoon pepper (variable)
Mix all ingredients and shape into a loaf. Place in roasting pan and bake at 350 degrees for ½ hour then pour the following mixture over loaf .
3/4 light brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
½ cup water
½ cup red wine vinegar
Bring this mix to a boil before pouring over the loaf. Continue to bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. This amount serves about 8.
Kevin
Thanks for sharing this with us, sounds great!!!!!
Wendy P
I made this for dinner tonight. Always looking for ways to use up ham. This is a winner. I did add about 1 1/2 cups of bread crumbs, and found the glaze to be very liquid - just basted a couple of times and served the extra on the side.
Kevin
Glad it turned out well for you, Wendy, thanks for telling me!
Heather
My autistic son doesn't like meatloaf with the exception of one. BBQ turkey meatloaf. I can make this one recipe every day of the week and he'd be thrilled. He loves it that much. Everyone has quirks. Some more than others. I'm thinking that perhaps that housewife who wrote about how it saved her marriage found the one recipe that her husband absolutely loved above all other recipes that she tried. That's my take on it.
Christine
I agree with the comments Heather made about the meatloaf recipe. Everybody else should just lighten up a bit and not read sooo much into every comment ever made or said. I think she meant that she got a deep feeling of satisfaction with the results because her husband truly enjoyed what she made and he was probably very touched by her effort to please him.
Kenna
I have many of Elizabeth's recipes cut out of the newspaper over the years and now Lovina's too. That meatloaf recipe is great and I always enjoy your column Kevin, jokes and all!
Sarah
I don't see anything wrong with it! There are so many things in this world to complain about- unsafe drinking water for kids in Africa, people tortured in camps in N. Korea, poverty stricken kids right here in USA.....lighten up people! I wouldn't have said it exactly, but it's nothing to complain about! Sometimes, in a marriage, all you have is food, and if that's what God used to bring them back together, so be it! Good story, and yes, Marriage Meatloaf is AMAZING! lol Sarah B.
Joy
Kevin, there was absolutely nothing wrong with your "tongue in cheek" comment! We all need a bit of levity in our lives and you provided some. People it was a joke!
Judy
Our world is going to pot and some people can't have a little fun! Seriously?!
Kevin, you did nothing wrong! Thanks for your post. Don't let one person bring you down!
Blessings!
Kathleen
Some people are just not happy in life unless they find something wrong with everyone they come in to contact with. I knew exactly what you were saying and didn't read anything inappropriate there. We are TOO politically correct, too sensitive and complain too much. Face it, there are just going to be those who complain about heaven!
tink2034
Kevin, enjoyed this weeks column. Havent tried the reciepe yet, but when i do i'll certainly weigh in. About the "marriage " comments.... well all i have to say is if this really made her husbands day, then good for them! Maybe it was the only thing that she could to to try and save her marriage...who knows what goes on in peoples homes, and i say way to go if this brought them closer together. Hey maybe it gave them something fun to talk about over dinner, whatever happened all i can say is, what a great story and lets hope they have many happy more yrs of the Meatloaf! LOL!
Diane Adelstone
Barb....this is for you! You sound old and self righteously set in your ways. I just imagine how hard it would be to get along with you. You are too harsh for words and the thing I would say to you is.....Lighten up! Will Ya!
Susan
Sounds to me Barb that this hit home. Maybe you need to lighten up and understand what he was saying. I've been married for over 30 years to the same man and believe me, there have been plenty of times that a good meal smoothed out the rough edges. As that old saying goes "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach." If you don't have a man you might try it; if you do try in anyway. By the way; need I say it again. lighten up!!!
Sharon
Thank you Kevin for your great stories and good sense of humor. There was not a thing wrong with what you wrote. I have been married for 44 years and have made the same comment many times that something or other saved my marriage. Of course that is just a saying we married people say, not really to be taken literally. Of course a good sense of humor has saved my marriage many times. keep up the good work Kevin!
Joy
Sharon, you are SO right! Fifty-three years married and humor and "meatloaf" have soothed the "savage beast" many times! Keep up the good work, Kevin!
Karon Williams
Forty-five years and a lot of work in my marriage, but if you leave out the humour you lose a lot of the fun. Keep up the good work Kevin.
Linda B
When my hubby & I were dating, I fixed lasagne & salad for dinner, and he was at my apartment almost every day after work!! ha! :)) Been married 42 years ... God ordained our marriage from the beginning & He has blessed it over the years ~ thru ups & downs ~ still on our knees praying daily 🙂 ... I'm going to make the meatloaf ~ it's almost like my recipe I use all the time! Thanks for the uplifting stories, Kevin ... this one in particular is humorous as well as showing how much they loved each other! ♥
Tommy
I divorce my first wife for putting oatmeal in the meatloaf. Who ever would screw up a good meatloaf like that should be shot.
- 4 stars
Kevin
LOL, good to know, Tommy!
kentuckylady717
The next time you make a meatloaf and want to use oatmeal, put the oatmeal in a blender and blend it with other ingredients and no one will ever know you used oatmeal...it is a great binder for the meat, I knew a lady who used to put carrots, onions, green peppers, garlic etc that she knew her son did not like and would not eat, so she mixed it all in the blender , he could not see it and he loved it.....he thought she made the best meatloaf ever.....and he was eating his vegs. in the meatloaf too :)chop up your mushrooms too, really fine and if they can't see them in the meatloaf they will eat it.....really gives the meatloaf a great taste....
Heather P.
That is what I do with the veggies in a lot of foods - hide them so the boys will eat it! Still has the flavours, added health benefits to a favorite comfort food. Great recipe Kevin, please keep on sharing 🙂
Matt
LOL, thats a pretty sad story, the one thing that brought them together was this meatloaf... wow. More like Tragic Meatloaf.
Gayle
From San Francisco...this is great! I made it with ground Kobe beef...enhanced with some garlic. Devine! My husband said he never was very fond of meatloaf...devoured this one!
Kevin
Gayle, awesome, glad you liked it, love hear about the San Fran touches of Kobe beef and garlic!:)
stacy shufelt
Sounds delicious. My husband doesn't like sweet meat. And I'm kind of scared of using oats in my meatloaf. So I found a meatball recipe on kraftfoods.com. that was absolutely delicious. I tweaked it a little bit to make a meat loaf recipe. Instead of oats or bread crumbs I use chicken flavor stuffing mix. Turned into crumbs or add water and eggs i use ketchup because of the water(never thought of tomato juice)mash with your hands. And then add meat and mix well. My husband likes to add bacon strips on top and cooks in the smoker grill.
Kevin Williams
Thanks for sharing that, Stacy, I'll have to try it...you aren't the only person who has been leery of adding oats to their meatloaf, so your alternative sounds worth trying! (and everything is better with bacon!)
Freida
I thinly you're all interpreting "Marriage Meatloaf" wrong…Marriage meatloaf might "work" just like "Engagement Chicken" (Ina Garten - The Barefoot Contessa (Food Network)….maybe better than the " dating sites "!!!!
Have a nice Day'
Cooking Matters!!
Bellafreida
Pamela Elliott
I have been trying to find ham loaf no one will grind a ham for me at grocery store, do. You have any suggestions.
Kevin
Pamela, hopefully a reader will chime in, but usually the small "mom and pop" butcher shops will do that sort of work, the big chain butchers, not so much
Louise Neubig
This is the best meatloaf I ever had or made,my husband loved it !
Kevin
Thank you for telling us, Louise, I know a lot of people love that meatloaf!